1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to water recirculation systems. More specifically, this invention relates to an integrated manifold within a water recirculation system that houses a water pump, a solenoid, a check valve, and a temperature switch.
2. Description of the Related Art
As interest in water conservation has grown, many devices have been designed for home water conservation. One such class of water conservation devices are known as water recirculators. These devices address the conservation problem created by individuals that turn on their hot water faucets and run the water tap until hot water emerges. This waste of cool water down the drain has been addressed by devices that slowly and constantly recirculate water from the hot water heater into the cold water tap so that hot water is always available at the faucet.
For example, many devices exist that are placed underneath a sink in the home and connect the hot water tap to the cold water tap. These devices normally include a pump for moving water from the hot water tap to the cold water tap to provide instant hot water once the faucet is turned on. Some devices also include a timer so that water is only recirculated during times that people are usually present in the home.
One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,572 to Imhoff. The Imhoff device includes a hot water supply line and a cold water supply line. An electric motor pumps water from the hot water supply line to the cold water supply line by passing through a solenoid valve. A temperature sensor is provided for detecting the water temperature at the inlet port of the pump and turning on the pump once the water temperature of the hot water falls below a preset level. A series of hollow tubes is used to connect each component of the Imhoff system with other components. This series of tubes running between components makes the Imhoff device complicated to produce, expensive to maintain, and expensive to manufacture.
Another water recirculation system is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,579 to Price. The Price system also includes a hot water inlet, cold water outlet, and recirculation pump for moving water from the hot water inlet to the cold water outlet. This system also includes a temperature switch mounted in a plastic housing for determining the temperature of water entering the recirculation device.
The temperature switch mounted into the plastic housing determines the temperature of water flowing from the hot water inlet. The housing also contains a port for directing the hot water away from the temperature switch and into a tube that is connected to a recirculation pump. The recirculation pump connects to another tube that runs to a solenoid switch. The solenoid switch in turn is connected to a tube that moves water to a check valve. The water passing over the check valve moves into a tube that thereafter connects to the cold water outlet. The check valve also includes a port to move water through a "back-flow" tube into the temperature switch manifold in order to recirculate a portion of the hot water back over the temperature switch. This helps prevent overheating of the water in the cold water line.
However, this system is expensive to manufacture because of the numerous tubes connecting the each component within the recirculation system. Thus, what is needed in the art is a recirculation system that is compact and inexpensive to manufacture in high-volume. Such a system is described below.